Selling on an ecommerce site vs. a social media marketplace

The difference between selling on social media and e-commerce

Over the past few weeks, I’ve shared some tips for improving your ecommerce website, as well as some of the different ways to sell on social media. This week, I’ll help you choose whether to focus on selling in an ecommerce store or opt for a social media marketplace.

But first, a quick review:

  • Selling in an e-commerce store means that you are selling products or services on your own domain. You are responsible for everything from web design to creating engaging content to SEO management.

  • Selling within a social media platform or marketplace involves using the platform’s selling capabilities to actively market your products. Usually, if someone clicks, they go back to your website to complete the purchase.

You will have to figure out how to process transactions in any way and install the shopping cart software or take shoppers to a third party site like PayPal.

Here are some of the markets you can sell in:

  • Facebook Stores: It allows you to add products in different categories, communicate with customers and get information about the data.
  • Facebook Messenger: While still a part of Facebook, this involves reaching out to customers (either manually or with chatbots) to reach your target audience.
  • Instagram posts that can be purchased: You can tag brands and products in organic Instagram posts, then your audience can tap to see more details and buy the product.
  • Pinterest (Statistics show that almost half of all users log into the site just to buy.)

The Differences Between Selling In An Ecommerce Store And A Social Media Marketplace

Now if you are selling from an ecommerce store, you can use a combination of SEO, content marketing, and paid ads to drive traffic to your products or services. Because you can use your branding and content to your advantage, this can offer a more authentic experience to your customers.

If you are using an online marketplace, it takes less time. The platform is already there, and you are populating it with your images, copy, and products / services. It may be easier for some small business owners to engage with their audience on a site like Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram vs. increase your website visitors organically.

However, the competition is high. You are competing against many other brands, both large and small. Your business could get lost in the noise, so to speak.

Often times, you will also pay a fee to sell. For example, the selling rate in Facebook stores is 5% per shipment, or a flat rate of $ 0.40 for shipments of $ 8.00 or less.

So what should a small business owner do?

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READ: Your Guide to Ecommerce Social Media Marketing

Your social media accounts are not just platforms for sharing content and interacting with visitors to achieve those goals. From Facebook to Instagram, it can be a powerful way to market your products and services to your followers.

But despite these statistics, many small business owners still don’t understand the value of using these popular platforms to sell. That’s why I created this guide – not just to help you understand how important ecommerce social media marketing is, but also to give you practical tips for driving traffic, leads, and sales.

Read more on our website.

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Sell ​​first in e-commerce and second in social networks

I recommend that you start with a website that allows people to buy what you are selling on your own site. Then, as part of a larger strategy, if it makes sense for your target audience, you can use a service like Facebook Shops to increase the size of your audience.

I do not advise you only sell on a third-party platform. This is why:

  • You have much less control over technical problems. If something breaks or the service fails, it could create a negative experience for your customers, and you may not even know it.

  • If you have a technical difficulty or a problem with your online store, you will have to connect with the third-party customer service of the site vs. by contacting your web development company.

  • There may be limitations in the market on how your company can brand itself. Your own site allows you full control over images, content, encoding, videos, and of course SEO.

4 tips for selling on e-commerce or a social media marketplace

While there are some major differences between selling on a third-party platform or your own ecommerce store, there are some similarities in the way you need to approach things.

1. Build, don’t push.

Focus on building relationships, not pushing your products or services to people. You’ll need to spend time building relationships and increasing engagement, whether it’s through detailed blog articles on your site or responding to comments on Facebook.

2. Know your customers.

There are so many questions that can help you understand your buyers. Who is your target audience? What networks are they active on? Do you leave comments? Do they prefer to consume video content or written content?

3. Understand the weaknesses of your website.

You’re driving potential customers to your site, so make sure it’s at its best. If the traffic isn’t converting to leads or sales, it might not be your paid ads or product images.

Check your calls to action, look for broken links, and take a good look at your navigation. Also, check your Google Analytics data to find out what works and what doesn’t.

4. Listen to your customers.

Whether you sell on social media or through your website, your reputation depends on how you treat your customers. Monitor your comments, respond to questions and complaints promptly, and monitor reviews online on sites like Google My Business and Yelp.

So there you have it – if you can, take both approaches to connect with your target audience! These two tactics can really complement each other and be a key part of your multichannel marketing strategy.

However, there is more to the process than buying a domain name and loading your site with products or services or creating a profile in a social media marketplace.

Hiring a professional marketing company can save you time and money. Contact us today to learn how we have helped many small business owners succeed.

For the success of your business,

Susan

Website design By BotEap.com

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